In 1998, South Africa’s National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) was promulgated to give legal status to the White Paper on a National Water Policy (April 1997) and the Department of Water Affairs’ (DWAF) water quality management policies and strategies, amongst others. To fulfil its legal obligation in terms of the management and control of land-derived wastewater discharges (classified as a water use under the National Water Act), DWAF adopted the operational policy for disposal of land-derived water containing waste to the marine environment of South Africa in July 2004 (the marine environment including estuaries, the surf zone and offshore waters) in July 2004; this policy incorporates relevant international and national principles, policies and legislation. The operational policy outlines the Department’s new thinking in relation to discharges to sea and consists of: A goal, Basic Principles, providing the broad reference framework or direction of the policy, Ground Rules, providing more specific rules, derived within the broader context of the Basic Principles, Management Framework, providing a generic, structured approach within which to implement the policy. This paper is to provide an overview on the Basic Principles and Ground Rules that were adopted under the operational policy.